Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [274]
There are also options from Dingle; check at the tourist office Click here for the latest details. Some outfits simply cruise past the islands and don’t stop.
Ballyferriter
Continuing north from Dunquin, stop at Clogher Head, where a short walk takes you out to the head with views down to a perfect little beach at Clogher. It’s a prime resting spot for seals and other mammals with thick layers of insulating blubber not affected by the frigid waters.
Follow the road another 500m around to the crossroads at Clogher. Leave the loop road here and follow a narrow paved track down to the beach you viewed from the head. The rugged surf is intoxicating, ceaselessly pounding this perfect crescent of sand. One normally cynical friend said: ‘It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.’
Back on the loop road, follow the road as it turns inland to reach Ballyferriter (Baile an Fheirtearaigh). It’s named after Piaras Ferriter, a poet and soldier who emerged as a local leader in the 1641 rebellion and was the last Kerry commander to submit to Cromwell’s army. The entire landscape is a rocky patchwork of varying shades of green, delineated by miles and miles of ancient stone walls.
One of the most interesting potteries on the peninsula, Louis Mulcahy Pottery ( 066-915 6229; Clogher; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5.30pm Sat, 11am-5.30pm Sun Easter-Nov) has all sorts of clay creations and a cafe.
About 2.5km northeast of Ferriter’s Cove is Dún an Óir Fort (Fort of Gold), the scene of a hideous massacre during the 1580 Irish rebellion against English rule. The fort was held by Sir James Fitzmaurice, who commanded an international brigade of Italians, Spaniards and Basques. On 7 November English troops under Lord Grey attacked the fort; within three days the defenders surrendered. ‘Then putt I in certeyn bandes who streight fell to execution. There were 600 slayne,’ said the poet Edmund Spenser, who was secretary to Lord Grey and patently not in a lyrical mood at the time.
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GET A MAP
The thicket of lanes on the north side of the peninsula is matched only by the even thicker network of walking paths. Locals, possibly driven mad from fumes while being stuck behind sclerotic caravans of tour buses, tend to drive with abandon when they can. To avoid becoming a hood ornament, and to simply have a more bucolic experience, get the Ordnance Survey Discovery series no 70, which shows every last path on the peninsula in exhaustive detail.
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All that remains of the fort is a network of grassy ridges, but it’s a pretty spot overlooking Smerwick Harbour, which has relatively sheltered waters that lack the sense of impending doom of those facing due west. About 2.5km north of Ballyferriter, near the golden Beal Bán beach, it’s reasonably signposted from the main loop road.
In Ballyferriter itself (a tiny village with a couple of shops and a pub – all the essentials really), the Dingle Peninsula Museum (Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne; 066-915 6100; adult/child €4/2; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct, by appointment rest of year) is housed in the 19th-century schoolhouse. It has displays on the archaeology and ecology of the peninsula. Across the street there’s a lonely, lichen-covered church.
If you’re not ready to do the loop in a day, or you just want a fine base for explorations on foot, An Spiece ( 066-915 6254; www.anspeice.com; Ballyferriter; s/d from €50/70) has sunny rooms exhibiting an attractive modern style that would flummox most Irish B&B owners: where are the garish patterns? The mismatched linen? The colours usually seen these days only on rusting ’70s appliances?
Free camping is possible near Ferriter’s Cove but there are no facilities; ask locally before pitching.
In Murphy’s Bar (Tigh Uí Mhurchú; 066-915 6224; snacks & mains €4-11; ), a stuffed fox with a pheasant in its jaws looks down on Gaeilge-speaking locals of all ages tucking into basic pub grub.
Riasc Monastic Settlement
The remains of this 5th- or 6th-century monastic settlement are one of the